SRINAGAR: Citing constitutional provisions and Supreme Court judgments, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday asserted that the single largest party after an election must be invited to form the government and given an opportunity to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly.
He was referring to Tamil Nadu Governor R. V. Arlekar, who declined to invite Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar to form the new government despite his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), emerging as the single largest party in the recently concluded Assembly elections in the southern state.
Abdullah while speaking to reporters here recalled the example of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 13‑day government, noting that the President had invited Vajpayee to form the government without demanding proof of majority beforehand. “When he did not have the numbers, he resigned. That is how the democratic process works,” Abdullah said, adding that there was “no reason to halt the democratic process” in any state or Union Territory.
He asserted that Arlekar had “no justification” to deny the single largest party an opportunity to prove its majority in the Assembly.
The TVK, though emerging as the largest party, has fallen short of the 118 seats required for a simple majority in the 234‑member TN Assembly. The Congress, with five MLAs, has offered support to Vijay’s party, but the numbers still remain below the halfway mark. Despite this, Abdullah argued that constitutional norms and Supreme Court precedents were clear that the single largest party must be invited first to attempt government formation.
“If we go by Supreme Court judgments, there should be no President’s Rule in such situations,” Abdullah said. “There are several cases where the Court has clearly stated that after elections, the single largest party should be invited to form the government and allowed to prove its majority.”
He again cited the Vajpayee precedent, emphasising that constitutional procedure requires giving the first opportunity to the leading party. “The President did not wait for Vajpayee to show his numbers. He was invited, he formed the government, and when he did not have the numbers, he resigned. That is how democracy functions,” he said.
Abdullah insisted that the same principle must apply in TN. “The Tamil Nadu Lok Bhavan has no justification to stop this process. Vijay should be allowed to form the government and given a chance to prove his majority. If he succeeds, he stays; if not, he resigns,” he said. E
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